Teenager found hanging from roof in Benue

Tersoo Veregh a teenage boy was found hanging from the roof of his father’s house on Lorkyaako Street, High Level area of Makurdi, Benue State.

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This was made known on Sunday from counterinsurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, in a post shared on X, that the incident occurred on Saturday.

According to Makama, the father of the teenage boy had woken up around 2 a.m. to discover that his son was hanging in what was suspected to be a case of suicide.

He noted that police officers from a division in the area visited the scene of the incident and recovered the body to a morgue.

Makama said, “The deceased’s father discovered the tragic scene at about 2:00 a.m. on October 4 when he came out of his room to ease himself and found his son hanging from the roof of the building.

“Upon receiving the report, the Divisional Police Officer in ‘B’ Division, Makurdi, led a team of detectives to the scene.

“The corpse was photographed and later evacuated to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital mortuary.”

When contacted for a reaction on Sunday, the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, Udeme Edet, confirmed the incident.

She noted that the police have commenced an investigation into the matter.

“We are aware of the incident, and for now, the investigation is ongoing on the matter,” Edet said in a telephone conversation.

This incident adds to a worrying rise in suicide-related cases reported in Benue State and across Nigeria.

It was also reported in 2024 that a 17-year-old secondary school student in Gboko reportedly committed suicide after facing academic and social pressure, also in 2023, a 14-year-old girl in Benue allegedly took her life after being scolded for a suspected pregnancy.

In another case, a 42-year-old native doctor in the state was found hanging after being declared missing for days.

Experts have attributed the growing cases of suicide in Nigeria to economic hardship, family conflicts, and untreated mental health issues and also linked the rising trend to poor access to mental healthcare and social support.